Manchester United’s Upturn In Form Is Down To ‘Triangles’, Insists Louis Van Gaal

Louis Van Gaal has been discussing Manchester United’s upturn in fortune over the last few games, and he insists that it’s down to “triangles.”

The Dutch manager explained to the Manchester Evening News, via the Mirror, that Manchester United have been able to create more chances and are sturdier at the back because his players now have more options available.

Louis Van Gaal has recently adopted a 4-3-3 system (something that he utilised during his tenure as manager at Ajax, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich), and as a result, Manchester United has recorded impressive victories against the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham. This has left United five points ahead of Brendan Rodgers’ side in the race to finish in the top four.

And Van Gaal has now admitted that this is his preferred set-up, while also explaining how it has improved his team.

“It’s always dependent on the players involved, but everybody knows the system I prefer is 1-4-3-3 with a No. 10 or No. 6., or a holding midfielder or a No. 10 player behind the strikers. It’s dependable of the quality of the players, but also of the opponent.

But I prefer it because that’s the easiest system to dominate the game because it is over the whole pitch triangles and that gives the players always two options at least.”

Despite their relatively lofty league position, Manchester United’s form since Louis Van Gaal took over at Old Trafford has been rather patchy. Up until their last two performances, the Red Devils’ league performances have been mixed, while they were dumped out of the League Cup back in August by League One’s MK Dons and the FA Cup by Arsenal at the start of March.

However, Van Gaal, who replaced David Moyes as Manchester United’s manager in the summer, believes that his side have been impressive throughout his first season.

“I think that in general we were the better team. So when you analyse our teams I think only three or four times the opponents were better in dominating or playing the game, so that’s also important. In attractiveness I think we could have done better, but very important are also the results.”

Manchester United have eight more games to consolidate their top four spot, which will mean that they will return to the UEFA Champions League after a year’s absence. Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal are their closest competitors for this position.

[Image via Perform Group]